


A Tight Knit Family

by beautifulboimckinley



Category: Falsettos - Lapine/Finn
Genre: Gen, I cried while writing this, Tearjerker
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-09
Updated: 2017-08-09
Packaged: 2018-12-13 08:31:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,095
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11755989
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/beautifulboimckinley/pseuds/beautifulboimckinley
Summary: Jason's newest writing assignment is to write a song about his family. His family is a mess, so he decides to start from the beginning.





	A Tight Knit Family

Tears blotted Jason's eyes as he stared at the paper detailing his newest writing assignment. His eighth grade year had been relatively easy so far, but this was uncalled for. 

"Write the lyrics to a song about your family. Think about the best and worst qualities of your parents, important family traditions, and what means the most to your family." He really hated his English teacher right now. 

He gripped the sheet tightly, and his gaze wandered to a family photo. It was from Before, and Marvin and Trina were smiling softly at Jason, who was probably 6 or 7. Marvin's eyes seemed less hardened than they usually were - the only other time Jason remembered his eyes like that was when he was wasting away in a hospital bed. Trina's hands were clasped with his, and for a moment, the couple did seem in love. Perhaps, Jason reasoned, they were in love with their kid. And Jason's eyes looked youthful and innocent, completely unaware of the messy years ahead. He missed that innocence almost as much as he missed his dad and Whizzer. 

Next to that was a picture of Charlotte and Cordelia, holding each other close as they laughed at what was probably one of Delia's shitty puns. The lighting was less than ideal and the photo was grainy and blurry, but Whizzer had made sure Jason was proud of it. His voice echoed through his brain, warm and comforting. "Kiddo, you're a natural born photographer!" Tears spilled over onto Jason's cheeks, but he barely realized it as he opened his desk drawer and removed a box of polaroids. 

Whizzer's pictures. They were his passion, his pride, his whole life. Each one contained bursts of raw emotion and artistic intensity, and Jason was jealous of that talent. The two had been working on taking pictures together. He sucked at it, but Whizzer never seemed to mind. 

One of Mendel and Trina, all dolled up for Valentine's Day and looking lovesick. The only remnant of what was there before Marvin and Whizzer - well, before the sickness - other than the Lesbians. But even the two usually chipper women had metamorphosed after what happened. Charlotte seemed broken. Being a doctor seemed to stop bringing her joy. After all, what was the purpose of saving lives if she couldn't save those closest to her? But of course she didn't stop trying. And Cordelia never made her chicken soup again. 

So Mendel and Trina were the last artifact of the Tight Knit Family. And every Valentine's Day was exactly the same with those two. Their love never aged. They were perfect. Too perfect for Jason. His grip tightened around the picture until it had been crumpled in his palm, and the tears falling from his eyes dripped onto the film. He muttered a weak "sorry, Whizzer" under his breath. Whatever. Every Valentine's Day was the same. 

Another of Marvin holding his racquet and winking at the camera, his cheeks bright red. His lips were turned up in a smile. That smile that he saved only for Whizzer. That smile that he gave to the sky as his heartbeat grew slower and slower. Jason's vision had been blurred with tears - it was still distinct. 

Jason shoved the polaroids back in his desk. Whizzer was gone. Marvin was gone. 

A stray photograph fluttered to the floor. Whizzer playing chess with Jason on the hospital bed. It must've been taken by Charlotte or Cordelia. Whizzer was ruffling his curly hair and his glasses were astray. His face seemed aglow despite his illness. 

He slammed his head onto his desk and started crying loud, ugly sobs.

"I'll start from the beginning," he mumbled. "From before they - they died, and before Mendel and Trina were even together, and Ms. Brown can't stop me, she can't." 

He took out a sheet of lined paper. 

"Dad just wanted our family to be normal. Mom did too, right? I think we all did." 

Jason began to write. 

"A Tight Knit Family/Love is Blind - by Jason Rosen" 

His teacher didn't know who anyone in his family was. She hadn't even had the chance to meet Marvin or Whizzer, and the thought pierced Jason's heart with an arrow of sadness. 

"Now the situation's this, I do not wish to offend. I divorced my wife, I left my child, and I ran off with a friend." 

Tight Knit Family. It was what they tried to be, and briefly, after years of struggling and of finding true identities, it was what the Rosens (and Weisenbachfelds, and DuBoises) were. But then - well, he'd write that song later. Right now, Marvin wanted that Tight Knit family. Whizzer wanted, well, he didn't know. Mendel wanted Trina, and Trina kind of wanted Mendel, but mostly she wanted mental stability. 

"But I want a tight knit family, I want a group that harmonizes." 

Harmony definitely wasn't crying over your two dead dads because of a crappy school project. Jason glared at the assignment. He set his pencil down for a second as he realized that there's no way in hell his dad thought this whole family thing was gonna work. He had brains, for God's sake. 

"I want my wife and kid and friend to pretend time will mend our pain." 

At 2 am, he threw his pencil on the floor with a proud "finally!" and declared the song finished. 

He looked over at the pictures on his desk and began to cry all over again. 

The next day at school, his mind buzzed and ached in anticipation of English class. 

When he entered the classroom and Ms. Brown asked for volunteers to read their songs aloud, his hand shot up. He sat through about ten sappy songs about mom making pie and dad barbecuing and all that jazz. When it was his turn, after what seemed like ages, he stood up in front of the class and read his creation. 

He got no applause, and the silent, shocked stares of his classmates bore holes in his chest. Ms. Brown gave him a C for it being too dark. He grinned. It was time to work on the next song - about Marvin and Whizzer's early relationship. Fuck Ms. Brown. 

On the way home, he biked by the cemetery and laid his instruction sheet and his song on Whizzer's grave. Hopefully, he would share it with Marvin. 

Jason could imagine his father's arm around him and Whizzer's wide smile as Marvin told him how proud he was. 

That was all Jason needed in the long run.


End file.
